Green Ideas Sought for Vancouver’s Future

Vancouver – Building on the success of the “Talk Green to Us” campaign, the public is invited to participate in the on-line forum www.talkgreentous.ca to share ideas they want to put into action to help Vancouver become the greenest city. The public can also visit the forum to vote on their favourite ideas.

The most innovative and creative ideas with the most votes will be selected to be pitched to, and receive feedback from, a prestigious panel of experts facilitated by Mayor Gregor Robertson and Bill Richardson, host of CBC Radio’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and In Concert programs.

“We are pleased to see so many innovative and entrepreneurial ideas from our citizens about how to green our city,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “This campaign supports the goals of the Greenest City Action Plan, keeping us on track for Vancouver to be the greenest city in the world by 2020.”

The panel features professionals from the sustainability sector and community leaders including: Mayor Gregor Robertson; Councillor Andrea Reimer; Arran Stephens, President of Nature’s Path Foods; Tamara Vrooman, Chief Executive Officer of VanCity; Janet Austin, Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Vancouver; Matt O’Grady, Editor of BC Business Magazine; and Greenest City Action Team (GCAT) member Cheeying Ho who is the Executive Director of the Whistler Centre for Sustainability.

Contestants can enter by adding ideas on the http://www.talkgreentous.ca forum by September 24. Innovative and creative ideas with the most votes have the best chance of being selected for the panel. A people’s choice winner, chosen by the audience attending the panel review, will be treated to dinner at a local Green Table restaurant as well as tickets to “Cities, bicycles and the future of getting around” with musician David Byrne and Mayor Robertson on Sunday, October 24 at the Vancouver Playhouse.

Hosted by the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Public Space Network and the Simon Fraser University (SFU) City Program, the panel event will take place at the SFU Woodward’s Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre. Poet laureate Brad Cran and musician Veda Hille will be providing entertainment while Jaime Kowal and Ryan Tomkinson will share art and photography submitted by citizens of Vancouver to their website: www.greenthecityvancouver.com. The public are encouraged to attend but must register for the event as space is limited: http://websurvey.sfu.ca/survey/64166248.

The panel event is part of the Greenest City Open House taking place at the Woodwards Atrium from 4 – 7 pm on Friday, October 1. City staff will be available to discuss the greenest city vision, goals and targets and to hear your ideas and feedback. Everyone welcome.